Michael Irvine Artwork: Pride of Kenosha

Michael Irvine Artwork: Pride of Kenosha

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When you mention automotive manufacturing, many people immediately think of Detroit, Michigan. What they may not realize is that between 1902 and 1988, Kenosha, Wisconsin produced millions of the cars and trucks — many of them built by the American Motors Corporation. The third release in Michael's "Building Horsepower" Series, Pride of Kenosha, pays tribute to the home of one of America's favorite muscle cars — the 1969, '70 and '71 AMC AMX. As the sun sets on the rolling farm fields just outside the city limits, these powerful cars stop to fill up before hitting the open road!

In 1969 and '70, The American Society of Automotive Engineers named the AMX as the "Best Engineered Car of the Year". With aggressive body lines, pony car styling, and both mid and high performance engineering, the AMX gave other cars in it's class a real run for their money.

Michael on "Pride of Kenosha"

It's one of those paintings I've thought about doing for while. I wanted to give a nod to the AMX's home, without showing the actual factory. I chose to set the cars at a service station on a quiet country road outside Kenosha.I also wanted to capture the intense light and long shadows created by the setting sun, giving the scene a really warm, "down home" feeling. I like to add a little something extra for the real enthusiast, if I can. I wanted to include a big, yet subtle, "AMX"—that was a bit tricky. I chose to incorporate the lettering into the tire tracks in the foreground; the horizontal crack in the asphalt completes the "A", the tire tracks to the right create the "M" and the "X". - MICHAEL IRVINE